Internship Blog - click on Title to read full Blog and see Photos

Better late than never

Author:
Elizabeth Ricci
Host Vessel:
R/V Atlantic Explorer

Hello all

Well once again I find myself a little bit behind on my blog posting but better late than never. My days here continue on as usual . I am currently just finished a ten day long trip that had us traveling from Bermuda down to just off the coast of the Bahamas, up to the coast of Florida to the Carolinas, and then back across to Bermuda. We didn't stop at any of those places but we were close enough to see the lights at night.

During the entire length of the journey we towed a cute little torpedo shaped package (which we refer to as the "fish") that continually pumped water back up into the science labs within the ship. It was a little bit tricky getting everything rigged to go out the first time because there is a lot of tubing and rope tied together in an unusual configuration but it all came together in the end. Also, a little bit unusual, is that this fish is being towed over the starboard side of the ship using the crane. Normally packages are towed off the back deck using the A-frame and one of the winches. No problem though just took a little bit longer to piece together. Once it was in the water the first time it stayed that way for basically the entire 10 day trip. There was one brief stint where one section of tubing detached from the fish and we had to haul it up to get everything refitted. It took about 2 hours to make everything completely secure again but eventually we got it back in the water and resumed the trip. Other than the fish being towed the only other thing we did on the trip was a single CTD cast every day. Compared to our usual trips that include 4-5 CTD casts a day (on average) this was a very very calm cruise. Again...in the marine tech world that is the very best kind.

We leave again for a 6 day cruise the day after tomorrow. The upcoming trip is for the BATS gang (the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series) and they go out every month and have for the last 30 years or so and collect the same data from the same place. It is an incredibly powerful set of data that they have accumulated and it is one of the most frequently cited set of data in oceanography. Pretty impressive stuff. That does mean that they are very comfortable on the ship and they perform the whole cruise like a well oiled machine. I really like these types of cruises because it gives me a great opportunity to watch everyone as they get everything in and out of the water so proficiently. Nothing like watching the masters to up your game:)

On a purely non-work related note, this past trip had us out in the open Atlantic Ocean during the Perseids meteor shower and it was breathtaking. For the whole trip I was able to watch the sky for a few minutes at a time and see at least one shooting star (or meteor if you prefer). My shift started at 2am every morning and I would sit outside and watch the sky for at least an hour just watching the amazing stars. At least 7 of those days I could clearly see the Milky Way. It was absolutely wonderful. I grew up in the city and am not much of a sky/star/astronomy buff but there is something incredibly serene and captivating about being on the open ocean, no land in sight, no sounds other than the water, very little light from the ship...just quiet and peaceful with nothing but a gazillion bright stars twinkling away. Made me feel so unbelievably lucky to be where I am every single night.

And now I think it is only fitting to sign off here on that glorious high note:) If all goes well I am hoping my next post will be entirely pictures if I can swing it so be prepared:)

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers DRL/ITEST 1312333 and DUE/ATE 1104310. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.